Whumptober 2019 - 31 - Embrace
by DinerGuy
Summary: 2018 reboot. Falling overboard isn't ideal on the best of days. Falling overboard with a head injury is worse. Diving overboard with a head injury? Well, this is Thomas Magnum we're talking about.


_A/N: __You know, with all the _trouble _Magnum has when on Robin's boat, you'd think he'd have figured the name out by now. ;)_

_Standard disclaimers apply._

* * *

"You know, you didn't have to come," Magnum was saying as he uncapped a beer and leaned back against his seat. "Higgy and I could have handled this just fine on our own."

Rick raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Right. Because the last time you two took Robin's boat out, that went so well."

"Oh come on. That was not our fault!" Magnum objected.

"That might be true," T.C. chimed in from his spot behind the wheel, "but we still had to track you down and haul your sorry butt back onto the boat before you drowned. And save Higgy, too, of course."

Magnum made a face but nodded in acknowledgment as he tilted his bottle up for another sip.

Shifting in her seat across from Magnum, Higgins laughed and glanced between T.C. and Rick. "You gents were more than welcome to come along, of course, even if you didn't have to."

"And leave you alone with Thomas?" Rick asked, rolling his eyes and smirking at Magnum. "We would never put you through that."

Magnum coughed, nearly choking before he could swallow his drink. "Hey, come on now. I think I did a pretty good job of getting us to safety until you two could show up," he protested.

"Yeah, you did such a good job that we had to rescue you off a sinking boat next to a deserted island, where you'd almost gotten yourselves shot—again, in Higgy's case—by yacht-jackers." Rick shook his head with a chuckle and took a swig of his own beer.

"You know, I _do _still have nightmares about what happened the last time I went out on a boat with Magnum," Higgins chimed in, although her smirk told the others she was playing the comment for humor—even if it might have been true.

Magnum frowned across at her. "Then why did you come along?"

"Need I remind you, Magnum, that _you _are the tag-along in this scenario? Mr. Masters asked _me_ to take his boat out before he visits, since it's been docked for a while, and _you _just happened to invite yourself along for the ride." She quirked an eyebrow. "T.C. just kindly offered to pilot for a bit, and so I took him up on it."

"Aw, come on, Higgy," Magnum laughed. "You know you're having more fun with us here than if you were having to do this job all on your own."

She chuckled just as a gust of wind blew across the ship, rustling her hair and causing them all to glance up at the sky.

"Hm," Higgins murmured in thought. "Looks like that storm is moving in faster than we thought." She shifted to lean on her elbow and glanced back at where T.C. was standing by the wheel. "T.C.? I think we should head back in now; we've been out for a good while, anyway."

T.C. nodded. "Roger that, cap'n."

As Higgins smiled and turned back to the others, Magnum chuckled.

"I know what you're going to say," she interrupted him with a roll of her eyes. "And I'm sure this boat can handle a little weather, but, if we don't _have _to be out in a storm, I certainly would rather not be. All I needed to do was make sure everything was still running in shipshape, and it seems like it is. We certainly don't need to weather a storm at sea if we don't have to."

Rick raised an eyebrow. "She's right, T.M. I know you were in the Navy and all, but I've always been a landlubber at heart, and I'm pretty sure you don't want me getting seasick on Robin's nice boat."

Wrinkling his nose, Magnum sighed. "Yeah, none of us want to see that."

As if to underscore the conversation, the wind kicked up even more, and Higgins gave Magnum a look across the table that had him rolling his eyes.

"Yes, fine, you have a point—Hey!" he exclaimed as the next gust blew his Tigers cap off of his head. He grabbed for it but missed and leaped to his feet as it went flying across the table.

Higgins jumped up as it went over her shoulder, just barely missing snatching it out of the air, and they could both hear Rick laughing at the situation—which, Magnum thought, was a very unfair reaction to his plight.

Just as the wind tossed the cap onto one of the benches that lined the edges of the upper deck, Higgins leaped forward and caught it by the bill.

Magnum pulled up next to her, a grin spread across his face. "Thanks," he said. "This is my lucky hat after all."

One knee on the bench, her other foot barely brushing the deck, Higgins turned and tilted the cap toward him. "Oh, right. The one that caused your team to win a championship simply by you wearing it," she remarked playfully.

Magnum opened his mouth to retort, only to be interrupted as the boat hit an unusually large wave. Both he and Higgins lost their balance, which sent them crashing forward.

Magnum hit the hard side of the bench, just past the cushions, and dropped to the deck with a pained grunt.

Higgins, still balancing on one knee, also fell forward, but there was nothing to break her fall. She barely had time to let out a startled yell before she flipped over the side of the boat. Her hands flailed as if grabbing for a hold but slipped off the slick surface, and she disappeared.

The sounds of the three men shouting her name mixed together.

"Jules!"

"Higgy!"

"Higgins!"

Magnum had been slowly climbing to his feet, but, the minute he saw her disappear, he jumped up from the deck. He stumbled slightly, grabbing the side of the ship to steady himself, as he frantically searched the water for any sign of her. His mind was flashing back to that day on the water when they'd been yacht-jacked, back to when she'd gone over the side of the boat… It didn't matter that there was no bullet this time; she'd still gone into the water, and, worse, he couldn't see her.

_"Higgy!" _he shouted. He could hear Rick and T.C. yelling from behind him and footsteps pounding up next to him, but he didn't turn away from searching the waves.

And then he saw her, bobbing in the waves just past the boat. He didn't even stop to listen to whatever Rick was saying, just stripped off his button-down and dove over the side.

"Thomas!" Rick's shout followed him as he hit the water, but Magnum didn't stop to respond.

He was fixated on Higgins, who was floating unmoving much too many yards away. Magnum threw all of his strength into long, steady strokes and was soon right beside her.

"Higgy!"

He grabbed her shoulder and flipped her over, pulling her nose and mouth out of the water. Her wet hair draped across her face, and he used a hand to move it from where it was obscuring her airway. She didn't even flinch.

"Higgins?" He gulped in a deep breath of his own as he tried to determine if she was still breathing. "Come on; don't do this to me again!"

The gentle rise and fall of her chest caused relief to wash through him, but it was quickly negated by the blood that was starting to tint the water around them. Magnum quickly located the source of it: a nasty-looking gash on the side of her head, to the left of her forehead. She must have hit the railing or the side of the boat as she'd gone over.

Magnum clenched his jaw and shook his head at the fuzziness that was threatening to overtake him. He couldn't panic, not now. Higgins needed him, and so he needed to focus. Heart pounding with adrenaline, he quickly glanced around, checking for any potential threats in the water. They'd been really, _really _lucky that day they'd been stranded in the middle of the ocean, but he wasn't counting on dumb luck to keep them safe this time. As Higgy had so helpfully pointed out while they were treading water after being yacht-jacked—her with the bullet in her arm—they were in tiger shark territory, among all of the _other _types of sharks he knew were out there, and anyone bleeding into the sea was essentially chumming the water.

Yeah, the sooner they were back on the boat, the better.

He hooked an arm around Higgins' neck, under her shoulder, then kicked his feet, pulling with his free hand to swim as quickly as he could back toward the _T.R. Belle._ Rick was already at the rail of the lower deck, holding out a hand and yelling at him.

"Thomas!"

Magnum sucked in another breath. His vision was still going funny, and he honestly wasn't sure he could keep going. But he had to. He _had _to. They were still much too far from the yacht, and Higgins needed help. And, while Magnum didn't doubt that Rick and T.C. would leap in at a moment's notice if he were to slip under the waves, he _was _the Navy SEAL of the trio. No way he was letting two Marines fish him out of the water.

It felt like an eternity, but, finally, he glanced up to see the boat was just another couple of yards away. T.C. was there beside Rick now, and Magnum paddled in a slight circle to bring Higgins' limp form closer to the others' reach as he stopped swimming to simply tread water.

"Here!" he gasped, blinking salt water out of his eyes. "Grab her!"

Two pairs of hands obliged, and Magnum let out a sigh of relief as Higgy was pulled out of the water. The fact that his Tigers cap was dangling from her hand, hooked on her fingers, wasn't lost on him, and he felt a wave of guilt hit him. He swallowed as he watched Rick hold her head and shoulders, walking slowly in step with T.C., who was supporting the rest of her weight. The two men slowly turned to move up the short flight of steps and inside the cabin.

Taking a deep breath, Magnum reached for the rail to haul himself up onto the deck, but his hand slipped from the wet metal. The momentum sent him plunging underneath the water, and he kicked hard to break the surface, coughing at the water that had gone up his nose at the unexpected dunking. It took more effort than he expected and left him panting as he held onto the boat.

He tried again, but, although he managed to keep his grip on the rail, he couldn't find the strength to pull himself up. Reaching up to bring his left hand alongside his right, he tried again, but only got a few inches before his head started spinning even worse than it had been a moment before.

It was all he could do to hang on as he closed his eyes and tried to regain control of his breathing. The knock he'd taken to the head when he'd slipped on the deck must have been worse than he'd thought. He blinked, opening his eyes slowly, and then frowned in confusion as he saw blood dripping to mix with the water in front of him.

"Thomas!" T.C.'s worried voice broke into his muddled thoughts.

Magnum glanced up slowly to see his friend watching him.

"Here, give me your hand," T.C. ordered, reaching for where Magnum was clenching the rail tightly.

The world tilted and spun around him, and, when Magnum opened his eyes again, he was lying on his stomach on the deck of the _T.R. Belle._ He blinked lazily, confused as to how he'd gotten there, before he remembered T.C. had just pulled him in. _'Like a hooked fish,' _he thought wryly.

"Come on," T.C. said gently, putting a warm hand on Magnum's bare shoulder. "Let's get you somewhere more comfortable."

That didn't sound like something he wanted to argue with, so Magnum just clenched his jaw and let T.C. help him climb to his feet. They moved slowly—a fact Magnum was extremely grateful for—and crossed the few feet to the staircase.

T.C.'s voice came over Magnum's shoulder. "Just one at a time."

If it wouldn't have taken so much effort, Magnum would have nodded.

He nearly tripped mounting the first step, and it was only T.C.'s firm grip that kept him from slipping. His buddy's hands stayed on him the whole way up, bracing him as they slowly climbed up to where Rick was fussing over Higgins.

"We have to get to a hospital, _now," _Rick said as soon as he heard their footsteps. "She needs—Thomas!" he broke off as he turned to glance at his friends.

But Magnum wasn't focused on Rick at the moment. His gaze was fixed on Higgins, who was propped up against the wall. Her eyes were unfocused, her pale skin looking even paler next to the bandage Rick had already wrapped around her head. Blood streaked her blonde hair and smudged her face and neck, although it was obvious Rick had tried to clean up as much as he could.

Higgins was wrapped in a thick beach towel, and her soaking top and shorts were tossed haphazardly to the side. Between shock and hypothermia, the danger was real, and they all knew how cold, wet clothing would leach away body heat quicker than anything—and that was the last thing Higgins needed right then.

"Sit down," T.C. instructed gently, keeping one hand steadily on Magnum's shoulder while reaching for one of the towels Rick hadn't used. He wrapped it around his injured friend, trying to help offset the dampness of Magnum's still-drying swim trunks.

But Magnum shook his head and tried pushing T.C.'s hands aside. "No…"

"Thomas." T.C.'s tone didn't leave any room for argument as he draped another towel over Magnum's shoulders.

Legs shaking, Magnum blinked hard, trying to focus even as his surroundings blurred around him. Even though he was trying not to think of it, memories of the atoll danced through his mind, reminding him of the first time he'd pulled Higgins from the water… towed her to safety… when he'd felt no pulse under his fingers and her chest hadn't moved once. When he'd almost lost her because he'd been fighting exhaustion and didn't have much more to give… The realization that he'd almost been too slow that day was overwhelming.

He didn't even notice he was moving until he nearly tripped over his own feet, but then he sank down to the floor next to the others. He practically slumped back against the wall beside Higgy, feeling as if every ounce of strength and adrenaline had been sapped from him all at once.

"Tommy." Rick's voice in front of him snapped him out of his memories.

Magnum forced himself to look up at Rick, who was now crouching in front of him.

"Hey, she'll be okay," Rick told him gently. "She needs a doctor, but we're heading back now."

As if to underscore the statement, Magnum realized he could hear the yacht's motor again and that they were moving.

"T.C.'s getting us back to the docks, okay?" Rick kept talking as he reached for Magnum's head.

Wincing at the sting as Rick dabbed at his injury, Magnum tried to bat away his friend's hands.

"No, hey, stop. You gotta let me get it cleaned up," Rick urged. "Can't have you catching an infection from dirty water."

Magnum grimaced, grunting in disapproval but sitting still so that his friend could finish disinfecting his head wound. Then he felt a shudder ripple through his body as the cold seemed to set in out of the blue. He coughed as he shivered again, and he could see Rick frowning at him. But Magnum didn't bother trying to respond, just slowly tucked his knees up toward his chest in an attempt to keep some of his body heat inside. He was just so cold…

"Hey," Rick's quiet voice came a moment later. "Hey, you and Jules need to warm up. Here."

Magnum blinked as he felt his friend's arm under his own. He realized a moment later what Rick was doing and would have leaped to his feet to move more quickly if he'd had the strength to. But he was just so tired that every movement felt like it took more energy than he had.

With Rick's help, Magnum shifted over a few feet, then Rick gently helped Higgins to scoot forward and settle back against Magnum's chest. The terrycloth fabric of the towel was sandwiched between them as Magnum wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly against him. She was shivering still, even through the towel, and he clenched his arms as if he could will his own body heat to transfer over to her—even though he knew he didn't have much, which the shudder that ran through him in the next moment reiterated.

Magnum felt another large towel wrap around him from behind. Rick put a hand on his shoulder to lean him back against the wall, then added another towel around them from the front. Higgins shivered again, and Magnum clenched his jaw. He knew he was still shivering as well, but that hardly mattered. He'd be fine; he'd been through worse. But Higgins… Well, she had been through some pretty bad stuff—a lot of which was his fault, he had to admit. But he wasn't going to let it get worse, not if he could help it. Swallowing against the nausea all of the moving around had caused, Magnum closed his eyes as a feeling of pure exhaustion rolled over him.

Rick continued moving around nearby, saying things Magnum couldn't quite understand, adding more towels to the cocoon around the injured duo. But Magnum didn't bother opening his eyes again to try to figure out what his buddy was up to. He just wrapped his arms tighter around Higgins and focused on the pattern of her breathing, assuring himself that she was still with him, that she was going to be all right.

He drifted off to the sound of a roaring boat motor and the rhythmic feeling of Higgins' breathing against his chest.

* * *

"Yeah, no. Neither of you are allowed on a boat ever again."

Magnum frowned across the living room at Rick. "Now that's a little unfair, don't you think?"

Coming over to sit on the end of the couch, T.C. set down the bowl he'd carried in and shook his head. "Rick's right," he commented, grabbing a handful of popcorn before sitting back against the cushions. "Ain't no way we're letting either of you near the water."

"Oh, please," Higgins sighed in good-natured frustration. "We have been out on the water plenty of times before this—why, Magnum regularly rows miles on the surf ski."

Magnum nodded at that, reaching for the popcorn. "Yeah, exactly. Besides, we live in Hawaii. I think you're gonna be pretty hard-pressed to keep us on dry land 24-7."

Rick and T.C. both just raised an eyebrow and looked between the other two.

"Thomas, do you remember the time you were stranded in a lifeboat—with a murderer, I might add—all night until we found you?" T.C. asked. "And why was that?"

"Oh, that's right." Rick snapped his fingers and looked pointedly from T.C. to Magnum. "Because the boat you were on literally _blew up _in the middle of the ocean."

"Now hang on!" Magnum protested, a disbelieving look on his face. _"That_ wasn't my fault either."

But his friends weren't done. "And wasn't there the time you treaded water while towing a dead body for an hour—_after_ being stranded by one of your kidnappers? Who _stabbed you in the side first, _no less?"

Magnum shook his head with a chuckle of disbelief. "Help me out here, Higgy," he pleaded.

But she raised an eyebrow as he looked her way, a smirk playing around the edges of her mouth. "They have a point, Magnum. Danger does seem to follow you at sea."

"Again, none of those things were my fault!"

Rick cleared his throat. "What about the time you borrowed the club's boat and brought it back with bullet holes?"

"In my defense, you told me it was insured!"

"You're just lucky he never made you pay for it, bro," T.C. chimed in as Rick nodded seriously.

Magnum gave a long-suffering sigh, but his friends weren't done yet. They exchanged a look and smirked.

Reaching for another handful of popcorn, Rick grinned at Higgins. "And that's not even counting all the stories we know about his Navy days."

Higgins settled back into her seat and grinned. "Oh, this sounds like something I'd _love _to hear."

"No! No, you wouldn't," Magnum replied quickly, although any hope he had for mercy from Rick and T.C. was quickly dashed as his buddies settled into story-telling mode. He sighed and shook his head as he reached for more popcorn. It was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

_Fin._

_A/N II: Wow, I can't believe we're at the 31st already! I still can't believe I pulled this off either. xD Thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed to let me know what you've thought of my fics. I really appreciate all of the encouragement; thanks for coming along for the ride! __I might have gone a little crazy a few times, but it definitely got my creative juices flowing. Who knows what I'll decide to do next? 0:)_


End file.
